Shika no ama no tsuri shi tomoseru isaribi no honoka ni imo o mimu yoshi mogamo

志賀の海人の釣りし燭せる漁り火の
ほのかに妹を見むよしもがも

Roma-ji: Shika no ama no tsuri shi tomoseru isaribi no honoka ni imo o mimu yoshi mogamo
English Translation: Like the fishing fires
the fisherfolk of Shika
light to angle by,
if only, even faintly,
there were some way to see you
Meaning: Like the faint fishing fires the fishers of Shika light to angle by, if only there were some way to see my beloved, even dimly.
Commentary: Book Twelve Thoughts Arising on Journeys 3170

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Thoughts Arising on Journeys"
Using the fishing fires of the fishers of Shika as an introduction, the poet wishes for some way to see the beloved, even faintly. Continuing the fishing fires of the preceding poem, it overlays a wish for even a fleeting meeting on the dim lights flickering far out at sea.
The poet is unknown. Book Twelve, titled the second part of "Love Poems Exchanged Old and New," gathers love poems by people whose names have not come down to us, arranged by category.

Line one, "Shika no ama no," means "of the fisherfolk of Shika," Shikanoshima in Fukuoka City, a hypermetric line of six syllables. The fishers of Shika also appear in poem 3177 in this book.
Line two, "tsuri shi tomoseru," means "lit for angling."
Line three, "isaribi no," means "like the fishing fires," and the lines up to here form an introduction leading to "honoka ni," faintly.
Line four, "honoka ni imo o," means "my beloved, even faintly."
Line five, "mimu yoshi mogamo," means "if only there were a way to see her," the same final line as poem 3165 in this book.
Author: Unknown
Source: Manyoshu
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